A project, bringing together senior executives from the creative and technology industries, has called for the gaming industry to work with the education sector to develop ways for ‘serious' gaming to help develop new teaching methods for the digital age.

John Cass, Director of the Creative Industries Knowledge Transfer Network (CIKTN), the organisation behind the project, said: "The whole way we learn is changing because of the internet. And the creative industries have a serious role to play helping equip our children with what they need to be a success in the 21st Century."

The CIKTN project identified that, while many education organisations are now using digital content to enhance learning, this has mostly involved transferring content from a printed format into a digital format. New teaching methods using digital content, created for education, are now emerging which could radically alter the learning experience.

"The UK has transformed into a knowledge economy where creative, innovative thinking is now at a premium," explains Cass. "Epistemic or 'serious games' are designed to create a learning experience for children that provides access to more advanced scientific, mathematical and social concepts. These ‘games' can encourage children to approach complex problems in innovative ways. Their success will depend on creative ways to apply this to the modern working environment. Britain's creative industries lead the world and linking seemingly unlikely industries such as gaming and education is a way we can enhance this leadership."

The main advantage of so-called ‘serious' games over some traditional simulation/games is that they can be applied to help provide students with the skills they need in careers as diverse as medical, military and commercial.
"People think of games consoles and other personal technology as distractions from learning, but this does not need to be the case. Gaming as an educational tool and collaborative learning through digital technology provide the opportunity to enhance how people learn," continued Cass.

John Cass concluded: "The generation that is growing up today has been engaged with digital content from birth. The creative industries in the UK can help bring digital content experiences to this generation that not only engage them but also educate them."

Within the UK, the Creative Industries sector contributes over 6.4% of UK Gross Value Added and is growing at a faster rate than the economy as a whole. In 2007, total Creative Industries revenues amounted to some £67.5bn. The Publishing sub-sector is the largest, with Radio & TV and Advertising among the top performers.

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